Monday, July 6, 2020
- State health officials outline new tracking metrics
- 434 new cases reported Monday, 3 additional deaths
- MDH did not report numbers on July 4 due to the holiday
2 p.m.
Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Commissioner Jan Malcolm said the state continues to increase its testing capacity, with a 14.9% increase in the number of tests in the past week. The state is also increasing its threshold for testing from 50 tests per 10,000 people up to 100 tests per 10,000 people. The state was already testing above that threshold for the past three weeks, Malcolm said.
Malcolm announced the state is also adding a new tracking metric to help guide reopening decisions, which looks at the number of cases per 100,000 people, with the state's threshold at five new cases per 100,000 residents.
Malcolm said the median age of cases continues to decline, now at 38.4 years old, compared to 41.5 at the beginning of June.
COVID-19-related death rates have declined into the single digits daily in Minnesota recently. Health officials cite a few factors including the lower average age of positive cases, while also crediting improvements in treatments and improvements in care and prevention in long-term care facilities.
Malcolm said they've seen "significant improvements" in the number of assisted living and nursing homes reporting new cases, as well as stabilization of case numbers in those facilities which have had outbreaks, with no new cases in 80-percent of those skilled nursing (nursing home) facilities in at least one week.
Commissioner Malcolm said health officials will be watching test results closely following holiday gatherings over the July Fourth weekend, with any potential impact reflected in test results over the next three weeks. However, Malcolm said it's encouraging that many of the holiday gatherings were outdoors.
State epidemiologist Dr. Ruth Lynfield continued to encourage Minnesotans to wear a mask in public settings, in addition to other safety measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, like social distancing and hand washing.
11 a.m.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is reporting 434 new cases of COVID-19 in the state Monday, bringing the statewide total to 38,569 since the pandemic began.
The daily MDH report also showed three additional deaths from COVID-19, for a total of 1,474 deaths. Of that number, MDH said 1,156 involved cases in long-term care or assisted living facilities.
Testing numbers were down because of the holiday weekend, with 5,677 tests reported yesterday. The state had averaged more than 14,000 daily tests for the previous three days.
MDH also reported 258 patients are currently hospitalized due to COVID-19, with 125 of those cases in the ICU.
The report shows 33,907 coronavirus patients have recovered to the point of no longer needing isolation.
Hennepin County is reporting the largest number of cases in Minnesota, with 12,456 cases and 787 deaths. Ramsey County follows with 4,911 cases and 228 deaths.
Sunday, July 5, 2020
Officials with the Minnesota Department Health reported on Sunday that 519 more people have tested positive for COVID-19, the new cases increase the state's total to 38,136.
The MDH says 5 more people also died, bringing the death total to 1,471.
Minnesota hospitals are currently treating 253 patients for complications from the coronavirus, with 132 people in intensive care.
MDH reports that 37,617 people once diagnosed with the virus have recovered enough that they no longer require isolation.
Of those who have tested positive, people between the ages of 20-29 account for the most cases with 8,339 cases and two deaths, and those ages 30-39 follow closely with 7,411 cases and 10 deaths. Those between 80 and 89 years old account for the highest number of fatalities in one age group, at 507, out of 1,594 confirmed cases.
In terms of likely exposure to the coronavirus, MDH says 7,012 cases involved exposure in a congregate living setting, 509 were in a corrections setting, and 171 were in a homeless shelter. A total of 6,828 cases had known contact with a person who has a confirmed case, 7,910 cases had community transmission with no known contact with an infected person, and 5,126 were linked to an outbreak outside of congregate living or health care.
MDH says 1,713 cases were linked to travel. Health care workers or patients account for 2,533 of diagnosed COVID-19 cases.
Hennepin County has the most cases in the state at 12,329, with 786 deaths, followed by Ramsey County with 4,855 cases and 227 deaths. Stearns County reports 2,361 cases and 19 deaths.
MDH is urging anyone who is symptomatic to be tested, along with anyone who attended recent protests or gatherings, even if they're not symptomatic. Testing locations can be found online.
KARE 11’s coverage of the coronavirus is rooted in Facts, not Fear. Visit kare11.com/coronavirus for comprehensive coverage, find out what you need to know about the Midwest specifically, learn more about the symptoms, and see what businesses are open as the state slowly lifts restrictions. Have a question? Text it to us at 763-797-7215. And get the latest coronavirus updates sent right to your inbox every morning. Subscribe to the KARE 11 Sunrise newsletter here. Help local families in need: www.kare11.com/give11.
The state of Minnesota has set up a data portal online at mn.gov/covid19.
